Computer systems including network servers that use electric grids generally operate at full power as long as the power is turned on regardless of the compute load, which is the amount of computation needed to be performed in order to deliver computational services to end users. Compute loads include, for example, central processing unit (CPU) cycles, disk access, memory access, input-output (I/O) access, etc. Laptop computers (laptops) and battery-powered systems entertain various modes of operation such as “sleep,” “standby,” “hibernate,” etc., which reduces power when the system is inactive. However, these power-saving modes are usually based on whether the system is or is not in use, e.g., active or inactive, but not on system performance or system loads. Further, these modes switch the system to full power operation if there is any user activity even though the activity does not require full power. Because servers are seldom completely inactive, they run at full power most of the time without greatly benefiting from the power-save modes that work acceptably for laptops and battery-powered systems. Based on the foregoing, it is desirable that mechanisms be provided to solve the above deficiencies and related problems.